Côte d’Ivoire: New cassava varieties bring women autonomy

Women farmers in Côte d’Ivoire are achieving greater autonomy and economic independence thanks to new varieties of cassava. Cassava is an important staple food in this West African country according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, second only to yams, a similar starchy tuber. Farmers in the southern and eastern parts of the country have taken up three high-yielding varieties of cassava, known as Bocou 1, 2 and 3, which are resistant to disease and pests, according to Boni N’zué, the coordinator of the Cassava Project, an initiative launched in 2008 by the country’s National Centre for Agricultural Research.